Howard Cohen on American Idol

Howard Cohen has been writing about pop music for The Miami Herald since 1991, and has written the Idol Watch column since 2005. His weekly critique of American Idol and its contestants runs throughout the popular series.

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What a difference decent finalists and better judges make. Wednesday's American Idol Season 10 finale topped last season's finale by four million viewers, a rise of 17 percent in total viewers and up 9 percent in the young demographic networks lust after.

The Scotty-Lauren pairing drew 28.2 million viewers compared to the subpar Lee-Crystal showing last year which garnered 24.2 million viewers (practically none of whom found any reason to buy the resulting albums). Lee DeWyze was not invited back to perform last night, only the second time an Idol winner failed to return to the subsequent finale show (Season 3 winner Fantasia was not on the Season 4 finale but has since performed on Idol.)

This 10th season, with its new judges panel and new label support from Jimmy Iovine's Interscope, reversed the trend of Idol's declining audience. Not since 2006 has the young demo grown year-to-year for Idol.

So much for people complaining they wouldn't tune into a country finale. Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina promise to be the most mass appeal finalists Idol has found since Carrie Underwood. With another year's seasoning and the building of her confidence (which flourished on the two finale shows this week) Lauren could be formidable. Scotty has been ready for his debut album from the minute he auditioned.

Here's a Billboard.Com piece from backstage at the finals, with a Lauren interview. She knew Scotty was going to win, she says, but is thrilled anyway. Singing with her idol, Carrie Underwood, she says, made it all worth it.

Perhaps in keeping with Scotty McCreery's low-key country demeanor, the two hour and seven minute American Idol Season 10 finale played without tension, drama or surprise.

Ryan Seacrest's announcement of Scotty as the winner at show's end felt anticlimactic. Scotty said "I gotta thank the Lord. He got me here," proceeded to sing his sappy dull single, I Love You This Big, and after sharing how big his love was on that teeny, tiny song, he ate the confetti that fell from the ceiling.

Runnerup Lauren Alaina looked radiant and seemed poised for an upset after handily outperforming Scotty during the finals Tuesday night but a girl isn't going to win Idol until producers change the voting methodology that allows unlimited votes. The young voting demographic that sent 122 million votes into Idol coffers last night will seemingly favor the guy every time.

The only moment of any tension was the morbid fascination we had watching and wondering whether any stunt people or singers would be injured during the Spider-Man performance to keep in line with its Broadway reputation. Alas, the only injury was to Bono and The Edge's reputation as songwriters after their toothless Spider-Man song.

Otherwise, the long finale mostly strayed from the painfully lame sketches of early Idol finales in favor of trotting out a plethora of pop stars young (Lady Gaga) and old (Tom Jones) without any outright disasters but few Idol Moments. Lady Gaga performed her current single Edge of Glory atop a rock cliff and looked as if she stepped off the set of an 80s Motley Crue video. She was in good voice, the song's catchy. Beyonce sang two tuneless songs, one of which had one set of repeated lyrics -- "Make love to me" -- that proved so tedious it was enough to kill any desire you had to take her up on the offer.

Marc Anthony rode his wife J.Lo's coattails -- or would that be tassels? -- to sing on the Idol stage. Shameless. The Idol men spilled cheese all over the place with a medley of Tom Jones hits. Strictly Velveeta. That is, until Jones, 71 in a couple weeks, appeared and showed the boys how it's done. Two-thirds of 90s R&B act TLC turned up and it sounded as if the raspy lead singer swallowed a brick before a rough rendition of their hit, Waterfalls.

Perhaps the most exciting performance belonged to rocker James Durbin who was cast away in fourth place but returned to the finale to sing a medley of Living After Midnight and Breakin' the Law with his idols, Judas Priest and the British metal group's lead singer Rob Halford.

After that thrilling moment early in the night, Idol had nowhere to go and went there slowly. No one seemed too excited with the possible exception of label heads who finally have an Idol twosome with serious marketability. Scotty, 17, will have the entire field of young country traditionalists to himself if he's allowed to remain real country (that sappy duet with Tim McGraw was not a good sign) and Lauren, 16, will fit on the radio right next to her idol, Season 4 winner and all-time most successful Idol champ Carrie Underwood, with whom she sang Before He Cheats tonight.

Did viewers check yes or no for Scotty McCreery as the Season 10 American Idol winner or did Lauren Alaina's gift of a mom song from shrewd producer Jimmy Iovine cut to the hearts of Idol's demographic and ensure she wins the show?

Find out in tonight's 2 hour and 7 minute finale (make sure those DVRs get that added time) and follow @HowardCohen on Twitter for live commentary. Result and review to appear here after the show.

Update: Doctors have ordered Lauren Alaina to rest her voice tonight due to laryngitis. As such, third place finalist Haley may go on in her place. She's rehearsed in case she has to go on. What a shame.

Lauren Alaina showed what a true professional and champion does in her spirited performance against worthy opponent Scotty McCreery for the Season 10 Idol title. Just prior to the show she blew out her voice during rehearsals and had to undergo doctor's treatment to tend to her ailing vocal cord. Right up until the last minute, 3rd placer Haley Reinhart rehearsed three songs should she have to go on in Lauren's place.

Thankfully, this big of last-minute drama didn't come to pass. Though her voice was a shade rougher than its usual pure tone, Lauren sang three songs with difficult high, forceful keys, and she handily won all three rounds, securing my votes for the Season 10 title.

I figured Lauren for the win from the very first time we saw her during audition week. Idol wanted a younger winner when they lowered the eligibility age to 15, they wanted a girl (there hasn't been one since Season 6's Jordin Sparks) and Lauren was the the kind of marketable star Idol hasn't really found since rocker Chris Daughtry in Season 5 and country-pop's Carrie Underwood, the top earner among all Idols, from Season 4. But Lauren struggled with confidence during the season, going so far as to back off a glory note in Unchained Melody a month ago. Her chances at the top seemed to dim although she always seemed to escape elimination.

But tonight Lauren rose when she needed to and all but dwarfed the formidable Scotty.

That's not to say Scotty didn't do his best. As a vocalist, he was near flawless tonight. He is able to sing a song with key changes and navigate among them, up and down, with the smooth transitioning of a Lexus cruising on the highway. Scotty also is among the most marketable finalists in Idol history. He will have the entire young country traditionalist genre to himself and that can be huge in America. Look at how long Randy Travis has maintained a career by singing true, honest country songs and Scotty's younger, better looking and a legit heir apparent.

Where Scotty came up short tonight was in the quality of his songs and his performances lacked the sparkle of Lauren's.

The show opened with the contestants' picks of their favorite songs of the season and Scotty fumbled by choosing Montgomery Gentry's mediocre Gone. The song's generic, forgettable and not really suitable for a finals show. Scotty sang the uptempo number well and worked the stage equally well, but it was routine.

Lauren countered with her favorite Carrie Underwood tune, an overamped country-pop Flat on the Floor, which taxed her fragile cords but she managed to deliver the song with energy and flair and she got through it which will earn votes for pluck and rising above a challenge.

She takes Round One.

Round two found Idols picking songs for the Idols. Country music legend George Strait selected his own Check Yes or No for Scotty. While having the likes of respected Strait in your corner is certainly a mark of distinction for Scotty and proof he has the goods for a long career singing Strait's brand of country, the song is, sorry King George, bland. Scotty sang it well and I'll check yes, but with reservations. He couldn't transcend the simple song's limitations and the chorus wasn't in Scotty's sweet spot. Forgettable.

Lauren had Underwood as her song picker and while I'll complain about Underwood's choice of material for herself, she picked a Pam Tillis tune for Lauren so when thinking of others, Underwood recognizes country royalty and a winning Idol song. Maybe It Was Memphis was just right for the 16-year-old. Her performance was livelier than Scotty's, she introduced a fine song to a young audience who might actually want to download the track (can't imagine many going for the borderline cornpone Check Yes or No) and, I hate to do this, but I'll echo Randy: "She's in it to win it."

Steven Tyler revealed why he's paid $18 million to be a judge on this program when he awarded this round and the other to Lauren "because she's prettier than" Scotty. Lame reason, Aerofloozie, but ultimately correct. Lauren wins Rounds One and Two.

Round Three, producer/mentor Jimmy Iovine's choice cemented Lauren's victory and my votes. Lauren was given a song a previous lackluster Idol contestant once sang (Kristy Lee Cook's Like My Mother Does.) Perfect Idol finale song. It's big. It's sentimental. It praises moms (who vote) and their daughters (who vote even more) and Lauren's pretty mom is in the audience crying tears of joy. If this isn't a coronation song and Idol Moment, I've never heard and seen one. The only thing missing was the confetti.

Alas, Iovine proved he's in Lauren's camp when he gave Scotty the woefully sappy, dreadfully bland I Love You This Big. I hated the song this BIG. And yet, Scotty's vocal was peerless. He ran the keys, soared and coasted as the song called for it and can't be criticized for what he did in that two minutes. But when voting, people are thinking moments and memories and Scotty wasn't afforded any of these with three poor anemic songs. Blame the songwriters. Blame the producers.

Round three and the title: Lauren Alaina.

But don't feel bad for Scotty. The incredibly poised young man is going to rule his area of country, and Lauren is going to grow into a mainstream country star and will score in her arena. For once, Idol has two big stars in the making in the closest race yet. I'll be happy with whomever wins but I'm hoping it's Lauren.

The final performance show of the season closes with Season 7 winner David Cook singing an 80s karaoke cover and reminding viewers just how weak Idol had become under Simon Cowell's reign these last five years. For all the times I've criticized the judges this season when they started to abandon their roles as judges and opted to become cheerleaders I have to say where it counted, Hollywood Week, J.Lo, a much improved Randy Jackson, and Steven Tyler, set higher standards than the previous judges had. The addition of Iovine, rather than outmoded and out of touch Clive Davis, was another shrewd move on producers' parts. Idol Season 10 made Idol worthy again.

See you on Twitter for tomorrow night's 2:07 finale starting at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Tonight is the Season 10 final performance of American Idol pitting country traditionalist Scotty McCreery against contemporary country singer Lauren Alaina. Look for live Twitter commentary during the show @HowardCohen and a review here late tonight after the Dancing With the Stars finale.

UPDATE: It's going to be a country showdown as America's music gets a good airing next week as the American Idol Season 10 finale pits its two youngest finalists ever in the finals. To no one's surprise, Scotty McCreery, the golden voiced 17-year-old country baritone takes on Lauren Alaina, 16, the country girl I figured for a win from her first audition in January. But with Haley Reinhart, 20, in the semifinals, there was an alternative. Though a consistent bottom 3, Haley started to peak at the right moment, upset heavy metal fan James Durbin last week, and threatened to steal a spot in the finals.

Thankfully, America got it right and now has its most talented top 2 ... arguably, ever. Not since Season 4's Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice finale have two contestants been so closely matched. Carrie was the marketable (if plastic) one, Bo the convincing Southern rocker and far and away my choice. Scotty and Lauren are an even closer match and more difficult pick for me, though I'm leaning to Scotty as he's been the most consistent all season. Both are country. He's of the traditionalist variety which gives him an entire field to himself. She's the mainstream country one who can compete with Carrie for country radio play. Both have the potential to sell more CDs than any Idol finalist since modern rocker Chris Daughtry.

Some say this will make for a boring finale. Two kids of the same music style. That's not fair, or accurate. This charge wasn't leveled in season one when Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini went head to head singing pop music (though her roots were in country). There are distinct shades of difference between Scotty and Lauren to make for an interesting race. He's the more confident rootsy choice. She's the more contemporary, callow one who will blossom over the years. She's more gifted than she realizes. Both are deserving.

Thank you, America.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Get ready for Ryan Seacrest to bust a gut on tonight's results show as he boasts the following news: A record 95 million votes came in last night according to Fox. That figure represents the third largest total in the show's history but the biggest number for a non-finale show.

Of course, that doesn't mean 95 million people voted. More likely a few tweens voted 92 million times for either Scotty, Lauren or Haley (pictured, FOX). The remaining votes probably came from the general audience who might text once or twice for a contestant.

We'll find out tonight at 8.

POLL: TypePad is doing a weird thing and shrinking the poll boxes (below).To take part in the poll, Right-click, Zoom-in on the box below so you can blow it up and read it and make your selection.

The 3 Idol finalists, Scotty, Lauren and Haley returned to their hometowns for celebrations and to learn what songs the judges picked for them to sing in the semifinals Wednesday.

Haley Reinhart hit Chicago and found out the judges want to hear her sing Alanis Morissette's sure-to-be censored You Oughta Know. Can't imagine young Haley delivering the song's signature line about theater frolics on Fox's family-friendly Idol but it's a safe bet she'll growl at some point during the song

Producer Jimmy Iovine chose the iconic 1975 Fleetwood Mac hit Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) for Haley. Given that Iovine produced two of Stevie Nicks' best solo albums, Bella Donna, The Wild Heart and her worst, some of Rock a Little, in the 1980s it's no surprise he's given Haley a Nicks song to do. But Iovine also was Nicks' boyfriend at the time. Maybe he's exacting revenge by setting the inconsistent Haley loose on one of Nicks' signature tunes.

Photo: FOX Round one was contestant's choice and Haley earns points for most daring choice: Led Zeppelin's What Is and What Should Never Be. And what is and what should never be is Haley Reinhart trying to sing Led Zeppelin. With an inappropriate smile plastered to her face, it was like watching a toddler hopped up on sugary juice after finding her parents' CD stash.And yet, the judges swallowed this callow rendition of the Led Zeppelin II (1969) album track. One would think Tyler should know better. But all those drugs and all...

Haley was somewhat better on Rhiannon though she lacks Stevie Nicks' mystique, originality and drama. But she's not the only one in that regard. Those are hard boots to fill. She flubbed the very first line, too. "Rhiannon RINGS like a bell through the night," NOT "Rhiannon IS a bell through the night." But Haley's main problem is she never listens to the lyrics of the songs she chooses. She sings words but she doesn't give them any importance. They are meaningless to her so what's a "rings" or an "is" in her dippy universe? But unlike her Led Zep, which went down like a lead zeppelin, her take on Fleetwood Mac didn't give me a heart attack. The lighting, staging lent the hypnotic song some mood. She gets a C+ passing grade. Will she ever win? I sure hope not.

Haley stumbles again with the judges' pick. Alanis' song is all anger and attitude, less heavy on melody or vocal runs and Haley once again plastered a smile on her face and sang about how she was going to get her lousy boyfriend back by "going to the theater" with him and raking her nails down his back. I wish all the exes I've pist off got mad at me with such a happy, smiley face. Haley just doesn't understand the music or what it is trying to say. She could win this show but it's hard to imagine what kind of album she'd make. She's not convincing in any genre. She finished much higher than she deserves and should go home tomorrow night.

Scotty McCreery, my pick to win the show's 10th season, met his music hero and vocal doppelganger Josh Turner (pictured above) as the country star surprised him in North Carolina by singing his hit, Your Man, with the 17-year-old. Scotty had turned Your Man into his theme song during auditions and had long championed Turner's Long Black Train so this was a nice gesture. But the judges want to hear something less current from the country frontrunner. JLo, Randy and Steven selected Kenny Rogers' 1979 Top 40 ballad, She Believes in Me.

Scotty went three for three tonight, flawless on his performances and all but guaranteeing a place in the finals. His choice was Lonestar's sappy Amazed and we learn from guest mentor Beyonce's lips that she likes Lonestar. Who knew? (Meantime, Beyonce has little to contribute in her mentorship beyond a sweet, uplifting demeanor. She is mainly here to shill her new video, an atonal, harsh, machine-driven "song" that made Haley's Led Zep take more tolerable by comparison.) Sappy song, aside, Scotty does a beautiful job with it. His voice has range, an artful break, or catch, in his delivery and believability that belies his 17 years.

Iovine's choice, Are You Going to Kiss Me Or Not, was a song I'm not overly familiar with, a country-rock number, and he chose it for Scotty because it reminded him of some of the material he produced for Tom Petty on the classic 1979 album, Damn the Torpedos. I don't know that I heard Petty in Scotty's performance, but I heard another winner and an instant download. I won't kiss you, Scotty, but I voted for you.

The judges' pick, the Kenny Rogers ballad, showcased Scotty in a more lush, pop vein. I was concerned that the 12-year-old vote might not respond to a song that was a hit when I was in high school with their parents but Scotty's performance was flawless again. He nailed the big chorus, went tender on the opening verse, and at this point seems unstoppable for the finals. His dad also sang a line from Josh Turner's Your Man from his seat in the hall and we see where Scotty gets his talent and looks from. Dad should try out for Simon Cowell's X-Factor. He's got a heck of a voice.

Idol's youngest contestant, Lauren Alaina, 16, my pick for runner-up, will sing Lee Ann Womack's inspirational, and oft-heard, I Hope You Dance since that's what the judges want to hear she learned in Tennessee. I hope she goes for the power note at the end since those are the kind of notes viewers and judges respond to. She needs an Idol Moment to wrest the finals from the undeserving Haley's grasp.

Lauren has needed an Idol Moment all season and by my count she gets 1.5 of them tonight. She has her moment with the judges' pick, Lee Ann Womack's I Hope You Dance. She might have to return Loretta Lynn's dress after singing the song but she owned Womack's inspirational tune. Everything worked for Lauren on this ballad and she used it to win Round 3. I'd give her a half-moment for Iovine's pick, If I Die Young. The song's rather boring but Lauren sang it well and, unlike Haley, has an innate understanding of how to deliver a song properly. She's not showy like Haley and might not make the finals like Haley (viewers tend to go for showy) but she's not just singing words. She's conveying them. Her first performance, Faith Hill's Wild One, was the kind of spunky country number radio plays and the kind of entrance she needed to make at this stage.

The contestants will reportedly sing two additional songs, one that will be producer Jimmy Iovine's pick and the other will be their choice. My bet is Iovine picks better than the judges. My hope is that no one picks a song they already sang during the competition. That's boring.

Scotty is the only certainty for the finals, though. As the only male, and the youngest male, he would seem to have the young girls' vote in the bag. Scotty and Lauren also have the country vote. But if they split some of that vote Haley could benefit. Though country IS American music and belongs on a show titled American Idol as much as any, and though Idol's greatest success so far has come from its country-rooted Idols Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, some people don't like country and Haley is their only choice.

Thus, it's conceivable the finals could be Scotty and Haley, and maybe it's wishful thinking but it's also possible Haley's quirkiness and inconsistent run during the entire season could also turn enough people off to allow Lauren a narrow victory into runnerup. So despite Haley's momentum and fan support in the Twitter universe, I'm going to predict Scotty-Lauren as Season 10 finalists. They will be, for sure, the most successful post-Idol finalists. Win or lose, they are the most signable and radio ready. But, for once, I'd like to see the best contestant win on this show after so many years in a row of Idol duds (Taylor, David, Kris, Lee ...)

All this said, and all the Haley bashing aside, even with her in the semifinals, this has been the strongest round of finalists in years and the strongest Top 3 in many years. Many miss Simon but I don't. Remember, the judges pick the initial finalists and when Simon was in charge we had years and years of uninspiring contestants to choose from. He didn't seem to care. Randy, JLo and Tyler have to get some props for setting Idol up in a much better place this year.

For more Idol chatter follow and click on @HowardCohen on Twitter for live commentary during Wednesday night's performance show and come back here for a review post-show.

Photo: Michael Becker/FOXThe good news: American Idol's guest mentor tonight is someone current and redhot commercially: Lady Gaga. No doubt, Gaga could offer advice on how to become a pop star in today's market.

The bad news: The Idol 4 have to sing Lieber & Stoller songs in tonight's theme. Lieber & Stoller are among pop's most lucrative songwriting teams but are of relevance to nearly no one under the age of 55. The team wrote mega oldies like Love Potion No. 9, Stand by Me, Jailhouse Rock and other tunes you won't hear on the radio today.

That doesn't mean today's hits are better -- though if I never hear an Elvis Presley song again I could exit terra firma quite happily -- but it also helps point out why Idols sell so few albums after they leave the show, even when they win. Older audiences accustomed to hearing ancient karaoke on TV from teenagers might bob their heads to Hound Dog with nostalgic glee but when the winners are then forced to record contemporary music for their albums, everyone seems puzzled.

The good news? The first half featured songs that inspired the Idols and this let them move up the decades ... to the 80s and 90s. James Durbin got Idol off to a karaoke start with a screechy rendition of Journey's Don't Stop Believing. You might have heard this song before. It exists so that Randy Jackson can say "I was in Journey" every season, as he must. (For the record, Randy Jackson was a touring member of Journey when several members bailed on Steve Perry for the 1986 album Raised on Radio. Randy was a session bassist. But he was never a full-fledged member of Journey. He was a hired musician to play with them.)

James was a frontrunner but he's now running third in my book. Haley Reinhart took a lot of heat for choosing Michael Jackson's anthemic Earth Song from Randy and JLo who felt the song was wrong for her. Randy explained why this was not a good choice more wisely than JLo did. He noted, correctly, that Haley's vocal range is not the equivalent of Jackson's and she was all off on the end when she screamed the second half. JLo, however, didn't articulate this point as clearly, instead, focusing on the song and why Haley needs to pick better songs. To JLo I would say, Honey, Earth Song is an infinitely better song than the empty dance drivel you've built your career on. But, yes, Haley botched the second half. The opening portions, however, were quite good.

Scotty McCreery shrewdly chose Alan Jackson's 9-11 tune, Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning. Coming, as it did, a week or so after Osama Bin Laden's demise, this performance had the feeling of closure. Scotty, as always, sang it well. He was, however, drowned out by the backing vocalists in one of Idol's usual questionable mixing jobs. Nevertheless he, more than anyone, knows precisely who he is and what kind of artist he is. In that regard, Scotty ranks as one of Idol's all-time greatest contestants. He deserves to win.

Lauren Alaina will do well in contemporary country and I'd love to see her in the Top 3 where she belongs but she's lacked an Idol Moment. She chose a song tonight perfectly designed for such a moment. Martina McBride's big ballad, Always, has the vocal runs, the drama, the melody and the power to let a great singer soar. As Randy said, there was nothing wrong with Lauren's performance. She hit the notes, sang in tune, survived the runs without breaking a sweat. But it wasn't quite all the way there to qualify as the Moment she's needed to ensure the semifinals.

Scotty wins Round 1 handily. Lauren is second best. Haley and James are far, far behind.

Round 2 was a strange brew of Lady Gaga in freak face offering good advice to the Idols on how to deliver songs that are older than Mama and Papa Gaga. Despite an improved, and crowd-pleasing I (Who Have Nothing) from Haley, which have many saying she won Round 2, I still have Scotty the winner of the second half despite his unchallenging, dated Young Blood. Haley did an adaquate job on a ballad Jordin Sparks did considerably better to help her win Season 6. I (Who Have Nothing) is clearly a better song to showcase vocals. The ballad has range, power, drama. But Haley lacks finesse and powered through it gracelessly. Wasn't bad but wasn't the definitive moment she needed to convince me she deserves to make the semifinals.

She still might upset Lauren and take her spot in the Top 3, though, unless voters penalize her for flashing too much attitude in round 1 when she argued with the judges. Lauren's second song was sung properly but proved so forgettable I can barely remember what it was. Oh yes, Elvis' Trouble. A title that describes the position she faces as she heads into tomorrow's results show.

Gaga's advice was great for Scotty. Though she was crude in her delivery, by telling him to hold the mike closer to his mouth and to treat it like a lover was astute because on the first song Scotty let the mike wander and that could explain why his voice became drowned out by the louder backing vocalists. She embarrassed the conservative teen but he listened and it helped let us hear his vocals with more clarity on Young Blood, the moldy oldie.

James had some passable Axl Rose-isms on his metallic Love Potion No. 9. I'd give him a 7, maybe 8. Gaga's advice that he should use his body and hips more for the performance was also spot-on.

Prediction: I hope I'm wrong, I think Haley should finish in fourth place, but I'm afraid it will be Lauren getting a premature exit Thursday night. Scotty maintained his front runner status. James still hasn't won me back from where we stood two weeks ago when he was wowing us with great regularity.

American Idol had more filler tonight than the omelet's Gordon Ramsey had the five finalists cook in one of the few entertaining (relatively) segments in a bloated hour that saw not one, but two, commercials for Jlo's new singles -- two vapid, empty, generic and personality-free dance ditties. Lady Antebellum performed their pleasant but unspectacular new pop single but all it proved is that Lady A is a one-hit marvel. Just One Kiss is no Need You Now, that's for sure.

That cheeky Ryan Seacrest tried to build suspense into what was a foregone conclusion: Jacob Lusk was going home. But at the top of the show he suggested there might be a surprise in the 60 million votes cast. Poor Lauren Alaina must have believed him because she was in tears as she stood in the bottom two. Her ouster would have been the surprise Ryan teased. But Jacob's screeching on Love Hurts and No Air last night left him gasping for air and for votes. We've seen the end of the road for this guy.

This once again brings Idol back to parity between men and women for the first time since Hollywood Week months ago. Two men, two women remain, all four of them with potential. We now have the strongest Top 4 in memory.

American Idol borrows the title of an old Carpenters LP for tonight's theme: Now and Then. Apparently, the remaining Fabulous Five have to sing a song from the '60s (then) and today (now). Why go all the way back to the 60s for kids who were mostly born in the 90s? Wouldn't 80s, or even 90s, be "then" enough?

Photo: FoxNow that it's done we find that Jacob Lusk did everything he could to get eliminated Thursday, James Durbin tumbled from front runner status to just above Jacob and Haley Reinhart becomes a contender. Idol also revealed that it is no advertisement for contemporary songwriting, because, one and all, the new songs performed during the first 45 minutes were all tuneless, forgettable nonentities, including an unreleased Lady Gaga song Haley introduced. So far, Gaga is three for three in crummy new stillborn songs from her forthcoming Born This Way album. Time for a backlash?

Scotty McCreery, however, proves the most consistent of the night. Scotty performed the newer Montgomery Gentry tune, Gone, well. It's a formulaic country banality but he, more than anyone, knows exactly who he is and what he's selling as an artist and he was on his game in terms of vocal and performance. His oldie, Always on My Mind, is tired from overexposure but, similarly, he sang it quite well. His rendition will never approach Willie Nelson's definitive 1982 Top 5 pop hit version but it'll do.

Lauren Alaina was also consistent with her overproduced, plastic new tune (Carrie Underwood) and oldie (Righteous Bros.) but that Idol Moment still eludes her. Unchained Melody had some nice moments here and there, she looked great, if retro Mandrell sisters (to quote my pal Lesley), but it wasn't worth a download.

James proved he has the rock star moves and worked the stage quite well for his cover of the generic, hookless and dull 30 Seconds to Mars rocker but his vocal lacked finesse. The only thing that wasn't flat about that performance was his hair which looked like a cabana post hurricane. James overplayed his hand on a weepy cover of the similarly overexposed Without You by crying during rehearsals and barely getting through the live rendition. This overreaction display of vulnerability and tears could net him some votes from the sympathetic but, for the first time during the live shows, I didn't buy him. None of it felt genuine and little of it was listenable.

Jacob was worse. The key was set so high on his No Air rendition there was no air for his vocals to land in tune. Hysterical and painful. The judges made too much of the point that singing both parts of a duet is foolhardy. No Air is not that complex a song and there wasn't much of a difference between Jordin Sparks' and Chris Brown's parts of the original song. Singing both parts was hardly a feat. Diana DeGarmo sang the Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer parts of No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) in the third season and did so masterfully. The Streisand/Summer tune is far more complicated than the bland No Air. Jacob wasn't any better on Nazareth's mid 70s rock ballad Love Hurts. When he sings in his lower register there is some warmth and resonance in his voice. But, once again, he flew into the stratosphere and when Jacob goes high he gets so far offkey not even a locksmith could help him.

Haley was the wild card winner of the night. She earned knocks from the judges for introducing an unreleased Gaga tune, You and I, but I don't think it was a bad artistic move to introduce, to the TV masses, a new song from a currently red hot pop star. Daring move and fresh. The problem is the Gaga song is mediocre, a point that didn't go unnoticed by judge Randy Jackson, and Haley oversold it vocally. But she handily won the oldies portion of the night by tackling the Animals' classic song about a New Orleans whorehouse, House of the Rising Sun, and did some wonderful things once inside it. The best part was her a capella opening, a dramatic and perfect hook. She might have pushed the verses a bit too far into the red but she still comes off with a win for the night's most passionate, committed performance. Haley's known the bottom three but she should avoid the danger zone tomorrow night.

Best of night: Scotty, Haley.

Worst of night: Jacob, James.

Eliminated prediction: Jacob. His time came weeks ago and all the screaming in the world shouldn't save him now.